By Sharon Ko
WHITE CITY, Ore. -- The Department of Veteran Affairs new data shows more and more combat veterans are seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder. Thousands of veterans are flooded hospitals, according to the Department. This increase is putting stress on several of the V.A. hospitals across the nation. As soldiers are expected to return home from Iraq near Christmas, more soldiers are going to need help.
The V.A. Dom in White City says they had a meeting Thursday to talk about how the hospitals are going to handle the influx. Doctors say they don' t have a set game plan quite yet. They say the PTSD clinic is still fairly new, starting up about seven months ago and with only five PTSD staff. They'll probably have to hire more staff, however, and start changing how they're going to admit patients into the hospital.
Those treatment groups and educational classes help combat vets cope with their experiences. Staff there says many returning soldiers can't cope with it by themselves and their spouses or family can't always help. The staff also say about 30 to 40 percent of their residences at the hospital are treated for PTSD.